Facing the slashes that kept flying toward him, Ace was forced to retreat again and again. With only his strength alone, it was difficult for him to defeat Momousagi Gion, who had once been an admiral candidate.
"As expected of Mr. Garp's grandson. Your strength really is impressive, but you've just about reached your limit, haven't you?"
"Your exhaustion is obvious. You look like you've spent far more energy than I have."
Gion smiled as she looked at Ace, whom she had completely suppressed.
"What a monster of a woman…"
"After Charlotte Linlin and Yamato, there are still women this strong?"
Ace had never expected Gion to be this powerful. On these seas, women were ultimately the weaker side. There were not many powerful women. Originally, Yamato alone had already surprised him. Now another one had appeared. It seemed he really had been a frog at the bottom of a well.
"That's because you haven't looked high enough."
"There are more strong fighters in this world than you can count."
Gion held her katana and completely suppressed Ace while coldly warning him.
"Very good…"
"That's it. Defeat him."
Jovian stood on the high stage, watching Gion suppress Ace completely as he gave his orders.
"Why do you have to treat him like this?"
"Are people not even allowed to pursue the most basic freedom on these seas?"
Yamato looked at Jovian in confusion. She could not understand why Jovian had to wipe out pirates so completely.
"Isn't that only natural?"
"There's nothing wrong with pursuing your freedom, but when your freedom creates serious problems for other people, that kind of freedom isn't true freedom. Your freedom severely affects the freedom of others, and that's exactly why I want to wipe out every pirate in this world."
"One reckless person is enough, and that reckless person is me. No one else is allowed that privilege."
Jovian was utterly unrestrained. The first half of what he said had sounded reasonable, but by the second half, Yamato no longer knew what to say.
"One reckless person is enough, and that person is you…"
"Doesn't that just make you a hypocrite?"
"Did you become a Marine just so you could hold everyone else to a double standard?"
Yamato questioned Jovian, angrily pressing him for an answer.
"Of course not."
Jovian directly denied Yamato's words.
"The reason I wanted to become a Marine was never so I could hold others to a double standard. It was because as long as I became a Marine admiral, there would be no one in this world who could arrest me. Don't you think I'm right? Only idiots become Emperors. The truly smart ones all become Marine admirals."
"When something happens, I'm a Marine admiral. When nothing is happening, I can do whatever I want. Tell me, am I wrong? Does that not make sense, Yamato? To put it plainly, is there really anyone in this world who is completely free? If there really is someone who can do whatever they want, live however they please, avoid doing any real work, and still get paid, then that person must be a Marine admiral, right?"
Jovian questioned Yamato. His words were logical and well-supported, making it hard not to believe him.
At the same time, Borsalino, who was tangled up in battle with Bullet, sneezed. He felt as though someone was talking about him behind his back. He figured that person was probably Sakazuki.
"Nonsense…"
Yamato refused to accept Jovian's words, but right now she was being controlled in his hands like a doll, because Jovian was threatening her with countless lives. Yamato knew she could not be that heartless. Besides, she had once received kindness from the samurai, so now she had even less reason to ignore the samurai who needed her help.
"Whether it's nonsense or not, you should know very well in your heart. But it doesn't matter. Right now isn't the time to debate whether I'm talking nonsense. The most important thing in front of us is capturing Ace and the others."
"So at this point, Yamato, I'm leaving this to you. Please make sure you and Vice Admiral Gion capture Ace for me."
Jovian leaned close to Yamato's ear and spoke softly.
"Sss…"
Yamato was unhappy, but faced with Jovian's threat, she had no choice but to tighten her grip on the kanabo in her hand and charge toward Ace.
"Ace, hurry up and surrender!"
"Either get the hell out, or die!"
Yamato held her kanabo and charged toward Ace, speaking coldly.
"Yamato, have you lost your mind? I came here to save you!"
Because Yamato had not infused her kanabo with Armament Haki, it passed straight through Ace's body. Ace looked at Yamato in confusion and questioned her.
"Ace, hurry up and leave this place!"
"Don't let me see you again!"
"I never needed you to save me!"
Yamato gripped her kanabo. Black lightning flashed across the weapon in bursts, and there was nothing in her eyes except pain.
"Yamato, how could I just leave you behind?"
"I…"
Ace had so many things he wanted to say. He had made a promise with Yamato. They were supposed to set sail together. How could he give up halfway like this?
"Yamato, be serious. If you keep holding back, the time left for them won't be much…"
Jovian stood with his hands behind his back and spoke coldly to Yamato.
"I…"
Yamato gripped her club tightly, and her eyes became sharp.
"Ace, if you still don't leave, it'll be too late. I won't hold back anymore…"
Yamato threatened Ace.
"I'm not leaving. I can't just abandon my friend here."
Ace's attitude was just as firm. It seemed he had made up his mind completely. He was determined to take Yamato out of here.
"Yamato, I'm placing the hourglass here."
"If the hourglass runs out and there still isn't a winner…"
"Then everything will end."
Jovian placed an hourglass on the throne inside the room. Then his figure disappeared from the chamber.
"This is…"
"I'm sorry!"
"Thunder Bagua!"
Yamato glanced at the hourglass. Lightning flashed in her eyes, and black lightning howled around the kanabo in her hand as she attacked Ace again and again.
"Damn it, Fire Fist!"
Ace knew Yamato had gotten serious. Against a serious Yamato, if he did not go all out, he would definitely suffer a crushing defeat.
"Boom!"
As Ace and Yamato clashed, terrifying Haki echoed throughout the entire room.
Gion, who had originally been fighting Ace, held her katana and stood off to the side, quietly watching the battle. She seemed very interested in watching Ace and Yamato fight, the child of Pirate King Gol D. Roger against the daughter of Kaido, the strongest creature after Roger and Whitebeard.
According to Vegapunk's theory, if the lineage factor theory held true, and if Ace and Yamato had a child together, then that child would possess the most terrifying talent in the world.
Gion thought about it. If someone suddenly appeared in this world with a body like Kaido's and Haki like Roger's, how terrifying would that person be? Perhaps their strength would eventually surpass every top-tier fighter and reach an entirely new level.
"Although I'm a little curious, sorry. That hypothesis won't ever be realized."
Gion smiled and stood where she was, quietly waiting for the outcome between Ace and Yamato.
On the other side, Jovian had not vanished. He had gone to another battlefield.
Atop the cliff…
On the frozen ice, a panting Gaban was still swinging the axes in his hands again and again. To be honest, he was already very tired, but he could not stop, because the man in front of him was terrifyingly powerful and possessed top-tier combat strength.
"Arara…"
"How about taking a short break?"
Kuzan continued releasing his terrifying ice at Gaban, but against a Haki user of this level, he could not completely freeze the man's body. Every time he froze Gaban, Gaban could always use Haki to shatter the ice covering him.
"Kid, when Roger and I set out to sea, you hadn't even been born yet!"
"What are you trying to act tough about in front of me?"
Gaban gave a hearty smile. Even though he was already an old man in his seventies or eighties, he could still smile while holding two axes and fighting a former Marine admiral who was right in the middle of his prime.
"Although I'm not trying to deliberately crush your confidence…"
"You never had any chance of winning from the very beginning."
"Because…"
Kuzan stopped speaking there, because a whistling sound came from the sky.
Kuzan knew that sound of tearing air far too well. He had heard it countless times during the Summit War.
"What…"
Gaban did not know what Kuzan meant by "because." Behind him, two blazing lines of vision pierced straight through his chest.
"Pfft…"
Gaban felt that scorching power as blood flowed from his mouth.
"Arara…"
"Are you already done for, Mr. Legend? Do you need me to help treat you?"
As Kuzan spoke, an ice spear pierced straight through Gaban's lung.
"Damn it…"
Caught between attacks from both sides, with damage to his heart and lung on top of it, Gaban began to feel dizzy. His strength gradually started to fail.
"Damn it. You're already so old, so why are you still running around?"
"Aren't you afraid of dying outside?"
A cold voice kept ringing beside Gaban's ear.
"So fast!"
Gaban, who could not react at all, could only feel the enormous pressure behind him. He had no way to defend himself. The next second, along with a roar, Gaban felt a huge force strike him from behind and push his body forward.
"Pfft…"
With the sound of blood spraying, Gaban's body slammed onto Kuzan's ice spear.
"Sizzle, sizzle…"
The instant Gaban was lifted up on Kuzan's spear, Jovian's heat vision sliced straight through Gaban's head.
In an instant, a Headless Horseman was born on the battlefield.
"That big guy is yours."
After finishing off Gaban, Jovian glanced at Bullet, who had transformed into a gigantic monster and was fighting Borsalino, then flew into the sky again.
"Arara…"
"Damn it, in such a hurry to come and go. But since you've given me a target, then let's do this."
Kuzan locked his gaze onto Bullet. In an instant, endless ice directly froze the thousand-meter-tall giant monster.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Borsalino, who was familiar with working in tandem with Kuzan, instantly transformed into countless rays of golden light that rained down on Bullet's gigantic monster body.
On the other side, Dragon, who was locked in fierce combat with Aramaki, suddenly changed expression.
"Gaban's presence disappeared…"
With his Observation Haki, Dragon could feel that Gaban's presence had vanished.
"Ah, our seniors really do move fast."
"Looks like you've already lost one of your major fighters. You're about to collapse, aren't you?"
Blood from an injury Dragon had inflicted flowed down Aramaki's forehead. Facing Dragon, a powerhouse who had been famous for countless years, still put some pressure on him.
"Looks like I'll have to kill you here."
"Otherwise, our side won't have enough combat power…"
After thinking for a moment, Dragon's expression gradually turned cold. Countless storms swept across the sky. Terrifying tempests connected heaven and earth, looking for a time like a true natural disaster.
"You really are arrogant enough!"
"I'm the Father of Life. How could a mere cyclone blow me away?"
As Aramaki spoke, his body transformed into a massive ancient tree. He tried to use his own body to directly endure the enormous tornado in front of him.
"Boom!"
In an instant, countless vines and the enormous ancient tree collided with the massive tornado.
"Sizzle, sizzle…"
Just as the two were fighting fiercely, thunder seemed to ring beside their ears.
"Tch."
By the time the thunder disappeared, Dragon's abdomen had already been pierced through.
"Cough, cough…"
Dragon spat out a mouthful of blood. He was extremely furious, but he had nothing to say.
"What's wrong? Not acting arrogant anymore?"
Aramaki knew exactly who had pierced Dragon's abdomen. After Dragon was injured, the scales had tilted in his favor. He was confident that even if this turned into a battle of attrition, he could slowly grind Dragon to death.
"Dragon is yours."
Jovian's voice came from the sky as he headed straight down below the waterfall.
"Leave it to me, Jovian!"
Aramaki was eager to try. Since Jovian had handed Dragon over to him, he could handle it easily.
"Despicable…"
Dragon lightly covered his wound, his eyes filled with anger.
"Hahaha…"
"This is a battlefield. There's no such thing as despicable here. There's only victory and defeat."
Aramaki laughed loudly and transformed into an ancient tree, continuing his battle with Dragon. The impact of their clash shook heaven and earth.
On the ground, the army commanders were locked in a bitter fight against Fujitora Issho and two vice admirals. To them, this was simply too great a trial.
"Karasu, you and I will launch a surprise attack from the left. We have to defeat the enemy…"
Sabo spoke to Karasu behind him.
"…"
However, it was very quiet behind him. No one responded at all.
"Could it be…"
A bad feeling rose in Sabo's heart. He hurriedly turned his head, only to see a headless corpse behind him continuously spraying blood outward.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
Just as panic rose in the hearts of Sabo and the others, a man holding the head of the army commander named Karasu appeared in front of everyone.
The man was perfectly polite, but everyone, whether they were army commanders or Marines, felt a massive chill. They knew deeply just how powerful the person who had suddenly appeared truly was.
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